Face Value
by Junebugsm
Summary: Jesus is severely injured in the car accident and Stef and Lena must learn to get past it and help him and Mariana move on as well.
1. Chapter 1

**Jesus is severely injured in the car accident and Stef and Lena must learn to get past it and help him and Mariana move on as well.**

(A merge of two requests - one by a guest where Stef tells Lena about the accident and the other a request by Balmz where Jesus is disfigured during the accident that causes stress for both him and Mariana.)

* * *

"Let me guess, you're stuck doing paperwork all night." Lena said when she saw Stef's name flash across the screen just twenty minutes after she left for the accident site.

"Um... Lena." Stef choked, trying not to break down until she said what she'd called to say.

"What's wrong?" Lena asked, hearing the stress in Stef's voice.

"The, um, accident" Stef began. "It was the twins."

"What?" Lena asked, instantly worrying. "Are they okay? Are they hurt? Where are you? Let me talk to them."

"They're loading Jesus and Ana into ambulances now. Mariana seems to be okay but I want her checked out as well." Stef tried to explain as much as she could in the few seconds she had before she had to jump into the ambulance with her son and daughter.

"What's wrong with him?" Lena asked, panicking herself. She needed answers and she needed them now and until she got them she wasn't going to catch her breath.

"I don't know." Stef answered honestly. "He's unconscious and his leg is definitely broken and his face is covered in glass."

"What hospital are they taking him to?" Lena asked as she turned off the oven and headed for her purse and keys. "I'll bring Callie and Jude and meet you there."

"Sacred Cross, honey I gotta go they're ready to leave." Stef said hurriedly before hanging up before Lena even had a chance to respond.

* * *

"What's going on?" Lena asked Stef as she ran into the emergency room waiting room where Stef was pacing back and forth like a caged lion.

"Jesus is up in surgery." Stef answered giving Lena a hug. "They need to take out all the glass and set his ankle straight. Mariana is having a bunch of scans to rule out any internal bleeding but other than that she seems fine, just shaken up."

"What happened Stef?" Lena asked, desperate for some explanation.

"I'm not sure myself." Stef admitted. "I didn't have too much time to find out but they're working on it." Stef answered.

"Well, tell me what you do know?" Lena asked, wanting at least whatever her wife was aware of.

"A car cut the light and rammed into the passenger side of the Volvo." Stef said. "Jesus was right there and the window shattered and embedded into his face and his leg was stuck under the dash."

"How long will his surgery be?" Lena questioned, glancing at her watch.

"They weren't sure." Stef said regretfully. "They had to first see the extent of his injuries though they said three to five hours at least."

"But Mariana's okay?" Lena asked for confirmation.

"She must have been sitting behind Ana because she was standing on the side when I got there. They had just dug Jesus out and were wheeling him into the ambulance." Stef explained.

"What about Ana?" Lena finally asked. The woman was definitely not top on her list but she was still a part of their family and she wanted to know.

"She in the OR for delivery." Stef answered. "The steering was rammed into her stomach and the baby wasn't moving. They're doing emergency surgery but it doesn't look good." She admitted.

Lena visibly cringed - was this the second baby she was about to lose? Was she going to lose more of her children as well?

Stef watched as Lena's face crumpled and instantly pulled her into a hug. "We're going to be okay." She whispered softly. "We'll get through this."

It was only then that Stef remembered her other two children standing behind Lena, listening to everything Stef had said. They were just as worried about their brother and sister and they were just as scared.

"Babies." Stef said, letting go of Lena and opening her arms for the two of them.

"Are they going to be okay?" Jude asked in a small voice. He'd lost enough of his family and he just couldn't bare to go through it all again.

"Of course." Callie assured before Stef could answer. "She knew what Jude was feeling and there was no way she wasn't going to protect him as much as she could.

"The doctors are doing everything they can." Stef assured though she gave Callie a warning look. It was one thing to try and protect her brother but it was an entirely different thing to give him false hope.

"Why don't we have a seat." Lena suggested, finally gaining back her composure. "We don't know how long we're going to have to wait so let's get comfortable." They all knew that comfort was the last thing on everyone's mind right now but it was better than just standing around and waiting.

* * *

"MAMA" Mariana squealed as Stef and Lena made their way to Mariana's trauma bay after her scans.

"Baby." Lena said, rushing to her daughters side to give her a hug.

"How is she?" Stef asked the doctor from right behind Lena.

"Lucky." The doctor answered honestly. "She's suffered minor scrapes and bruises considering the accident she was in. We need her to stay overnight and we're giving her a drip as precaution but if there are no complications and nothing shows up then she'll be free to leave tomorrow."

"And you're checked everything?" Lena asked worriedly.

"Down to her little toenails." The doctor offered good natured-ly. He'd seen all types of parents over the years and each one always wanted to know that every possible injury had been checked for and these two were no exception.

"Thank you doctor." Stef said as she stroked her daughter's hair lovingly.

* * *

"Jesus?" Mariana asked as she looked between her mothers.

"He's in surgery." Stef answered honestly. There was no point in trying to sugar coat anything - Mariana had already seen the state he was in at the site itself.

"Is he going to be okay?" The child asked with wide, worried eyes.

This time it was so much harder for Stef to answer honestly and she could see why Callie was so desperate to protect her brother. But she knew that false hope would do no good in the long run and so she opted for the same vague answer.

"The doctors are doing everything they can." She answered as honestly as she could, stroking her hand up Mariana's arm, trying to comfort her as much as she could.

Tears filled Mariana's eyes as she glanced at Lena. "I'm scared." She said, sounding like the child who'd first come into their home nine years ago. "Mama, I want to go home." She said through her tears.

"I know love." Lena smiled sadly as she climbed onto the bed to hold her daughter. She wanted the very same thing - to go home and take her entire family with her.

"I'll go check on the others." Stef said when she saw Mariana melt into her mother's arms. They were just as afraid and needed a mom just as much and with Mariana taken care of she'd be there for the other three.

* * *

"What happened?" Brandon asked as soon as he saw his mother enter the waiting room and head towards them.

"There was an accident." Stef explained but before she could continue Brandon interrupted.

"I know that." He said in frustration. "What's happening to the twins?" He clarified. He'd been called by Callie and come as soon as his audition was over and he'd been here for ten minutes now and had been filled in with what the other's knew and now he wanted further details.

"Mariana seems to be fine." Stef explained. "Jesus is in surgery. He was hit pretty bad." She answered honestly.

"But he's going to be okay right?" Brandon asked directly, desperate for the assurance.

Stef looked away. There wasn't an answer for that and she knew that Brandon knew it too.

"What about Ana?" Mike asked, making his presence known to Stef.

"Delivery." Stef answered. "The baby wasn't moving and they needed to get her out."

Mike nodded. "Have you seen her?" He asked, knowing that she would have been a whole lot more worried about her kids.

"We haven't had a chance to see her or Jesus." Stef said. "They were both wheeled up to surgery minutes after getting here."

"Can we see Mariana?" Callie spoke up. If she was okay then they wanted to see her and know for themselves.

"She's resting with mama right now." Stef explained. Mariana needed to take it easy and she was already stressed about Jesus and having another four people surrounding her wasn't going to help her nerves any. "When she wakes up okay." She said, knowing that it was just as worrying for them as well.

* * *

"What about the other car?" Lena asked softly from the bed.

It had been three hours and Mariana had finally fallen asleep in Lena's arms and Stef was sitting in a chair by her bed. Mike had taken the other three children home and would stay with them until Sharon flew in in a few hours. He would then come back to help out with Ana and the twins.

Stef looked away for a moment, unsure of how to answer that question. She'd asked and hadn't liked the answer she'd received and she knew Lena wouldn't like it as well. Her friends had assured her that they'd look into it but until then she had to just sit and wait and Stef hated just sitting and waiting and now she seemed to be doing it a lot.

"Stef?" Lena questioned, noticing the conflict on Stef's face.

Stef opened her mouth to answer but before she could even begin the door opened and in walked Jesus' surgeon.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

A new multi chapter story that will be updated as much as possible. I hope you guys enjoy it. I don't actually have a plan yet except for what was requested so I have no idea how long it's going to be.

All medical information is made up based on Grey's Anatomy so things may not be accurate - my apologies.

I still have a few requests lined up and people have asked if I'm still going to do them. I am so please be patient. It's really hard for me to find time to write every day. I will definitely get to them - that's a promise.

I hope you enjoy this story.

Love Junebug.

PS: A quick shout out to those who always ask after my daughter. It's really nice of you guys to think of her and it means so much to me. She seven months now and doing extremely well and sometimes I feel like she was born only yesterday while other times I feel like it was years ago. Like they say - The days last forever but the years fly by.


	2. Author's Note

Hi All,

Sorry this story isn't going to continue because the person who requested it has asked someone else to write it - I guess I was taking too long.

To the person who requested the part about Stef telling Lena about the accident, I'll rewrite it and make it more emotional as a oneshot but the rest won't be added.

For those who have sent me requests... if you're asking others to do them instead then please let me know so I don't waste my time. With a baby my time is limited and I can work on other things instead.

Thanks for reading and sorry for the disappointment - I've never done this before but I just don't have the spare time to working on something someone else is doing exactly the same.

Love

Junebug.

PS: The guest who sent me a review on **DOOR SLAMMING** asking for Lena to be with Monty and Stef has to accept it... Please elaborate because I'm a little unclear of what you want. Thanks.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

 **Recluse... this is for you :)**

* * *

"So what does this mean?" Lena asked, her face filled with worry as she tried to follow the doctor's words.

"We will need to perform plastic surgery to clear up his face." The doctor confirmed. "There was too much damage from all the glass and even though we can stitch each one up his face will always have the marks."

"So what exactly will you do to fix that?" Stef asked, speaking up for the first time since the doctor had walked in. "What scars will be left from the surgery?"

"We will cut his skin at his hairline and basically pull it away from his face." The doctor explained making both Stef and Lena cringe glad that they had moved out of Marina's room to talk. "Using his own skin we will then graft new skin and attach it to the edges of his face and it will grow to basically make a new layer of skin over the muscle and tissue and that's what causes the difference in the face."

"And there will be no scarring?" Lena confirmed.

"Very slight, at the hairline but it won't be clearly visible." The doctor confirmed.

"But his face will be different." Lena tried to wrap her mind around it all.

"He will not look like he does now." The doctor admitted. "It will be very close but still, it will be different."

"And how long will it take?" Stef asked. "Giving him a new face?"

"Well, we would need at least a week to graft enough skin to cover his face and the surgery would take maybe five or six hours, a couple more depending on how clean a cut we get considering the damage and recovery could be anywhere from two weeks to six months."

"Six months?" Stef and Lena asked in unison. "Why such a gap?" Stef questioned.

"It all depends on how his body reacts to the new skin." The doctor explained. "It will be grafted from his own skin so rejection should be minimal but still, sometimes the body reacts unexpectedly." He paused a moment for them to process before continuing. "Once one layer had attached well we will just have to wait until we can take the bandages off but if that first layer takes time to attach or doesn't attach entirely then we will have to repeat the process."

"From scratch?" Lena asked.

"Depends on how much doesn't attach." The doctor answered. "If it's a small amount we can work around it but if it's over twenty-five percent then it's easier and less time-consuming to just begin again." He said.

"And what if we choose not to do this?" Stef questioned.

"He will look like before only will several tiny marks on the right side of his face." The doctor answered. "They will fade over time but they will always be visible."

"But it will be his face." Lena confirmed. "The one we all know."

"Yes." The doctor admitted. "But he will always look like he was in an accident."

Stef and Lena both looked at each other wondering how they were supposed to make this decision without having any time to think about it and consider all the possibilities. What would Jesus prefer? Is it fair to make this decision for him and what if they choose the wrong one? What if, a few years down the line, once they all get over this incident, Jesus wished he had a clear face, or on the other hand what if he is never able to look at himself in the mirror again because he can't recognize who he sees.

"What if we wait?" Stef asked, thinking that maybe they all needed some time to just take a breath and give Jesus a chance to decide.

"His skin will heal and we'll have to do it all over again." The doctor answered. "Right now a lot of the skin is already off so it's easier to remove it. Waiting means adding even more scars around the edges."

Stef and Lena both looked overwhelmed, trying to figure out what was best for their son. For the second time in a year they were faced with he decision of having to choose a surgery that could fix everything or cause even more problems and neither one of them felt comfortable making the choice.

"I'll give you some time to think about this." The doctor said kindly. "If you have any other questions there's anything you need to clear up just ask a nurse to call for me."

Stef and Lena nodded and smiled slightly in thanks as they walked towards two empty seats to talk. However, before they made it even a few steps the doctor stopped them.

"I'm very good at my job and whatever you decide, I promise I will do the best that I can however I do recommend the surgery because he's young and he has his whole life to live and it may be a lot asking him to bare so many scars on his face for the rest of his life." He said sincerely.

And with that the decision had basically been made. There was no way Stef and Lena were going to force their son to go though life having to explain why more than half his face looked like he'd done a really bad job shaving.

* * *

"So he won't be Jesus?" Mariana asked in horror.

"He will always be Jesus." Stef said firmly. "Who his is isn't going to change."

Stef and Lena had finally made the decision after nearly five hours of listing all the pros and cons. Jesus' reports had been sent to a hospital in Philadelphia where the number one surgeon worked and he had recommended the same procedure and finally they had just had to accept that it was what they needed to do.

The two moms had gathered the kids in Mariana's room and explained what was about to happen and each child seemed completely uncertain of what it meant to have 'a new face'.

"The doctor is going to come and show us some photographs of people who have had this surgery and how different they look." Lena explained to her daughter.

And as if on cue the door opened and the doctor walked in with a folder in his hands.

* * *

"They do look remarkably similar." Lena said as she looked over the pictures closely. "It's almost impossible to tell there's a difference."

"It looks like the photos may have been taken a couple of years apart." Stef agreed, feeling more comfortable with their choice after having seen some of these pictures.

"Maybe they can get rid of his unibrow for good." Mariana suggested, trying to find the silver lining in this situation.

"Yeah, and his nose is just a little bit crooked, anything you can do about that?" Callie added, going along with Mariana's method of trying to cope.

The two shared a small laugh before glancing back at the photographs, trying to imagine what Jesus might look like after the surgery.

"They are remarkably similar." The doctor agreed, breaking the family of their conversation. "But I must warn you... when it's your face or the face of someone close to you, even the slightest change is huge." He said, hoping they understand the gravity of his words. "The difference will seem much grater than with people you don't know."

"What exactly does that mean?" Stef asked, suddenly nervous again.

"It's going to be a huge adjustment for all of you." The doctor explained. "Each time you look at him, you will be taken aback and in most cases the patient, and sometimes family members, struggle psychologically. It takes a lot of getting used to." He warned.

"But you still think this is the best course of action?" Lena confirmed skeptically.

"I do." The doctor said seriously. "The adjustments will be the same - getting used to the scars could be just as traumatizing as the grafting. Everyone who knows him now will see the difference either way. The difference is that the people he meets in the future will only know him as the new face. They won't have reason to ask question whereas with the scars he may spend the rest of his life explaining the accident."

What the doctor said made complete sense however it did nothing to make the family's decision any less nerve-wracking. They glanced around at each, all looking to see if anyone had any objection before Stef turned to the doctor.

"Do it." She finally said, speaking for them all.


	4. Chapter 4

"You ready young man?" The doctor asked, waiting for Jesus to give him the go-ahead.

It was now three weeks since the surgery and Jesus had been waiting for seventeen days to take the bandages off. His mothers had spent hours talking to him about the decision they'd made; the doctors had explained the procedure and what to expect and given them all some information on support groups and therapists to help them cope and his siblings had encouraged him to look on the bright side of things and now he was just ready to get it over with.

"Hell yeah." Jesus said with more enthusiasm than anyone expected. He was apprehensive about what his face would look like but he firmly believed his mothers had made the right decision for he definitely did not want to spend the rest of his life looking worse than Scarface.

"Just remember, it's not what you're used to." The doctor warned.

"Just so long as I don't look like Frankenstein then I'm good." Jesus assured with a shrug.

"Also, there may still be some swelling, redness and tenderness, but that will all disappear as it heals." The doctor reminding him, even though he'd said all this just a few minutes ago.

"Ready for the grand unveiling sir." Jesus joked.

The doctor glanced at Stef and Lena once just to make sure that they were as ready as their son and then carefully began to unwrap Jesus' face. Both mom's held their breath as they watched the bandages come away for for the last three weeks they'd only seen his eyes, lips and the tip of his nose.

Silence filled the room as each one took their time to study Jesus' face. It was his face, but at the same time it was not and it wasn't just because of the slight redness and swelling. There was definitely a resemblance but he looked more like another family member like cousin. Both mothers hoped like hell that they weren't being rude for neither of them could stop staring.

But Jesus never even noticed for he was too busy studying his face in the mirror. He knew in theory that his face would be different but actually looking in the mirror had taken him by surprise and he constantly found himself touching his face just to check if he was in fact looking at himself.

The doctor finally began to explain a few things just so that Jesus could get an idea of what to expect. "This is where we made the cut and pulled the old skin away." The doctor began as he pointed to the top of Jesus' left ear and traced his hairline all the way to the other. Once the hair grows back the scar will be almost ninety percent hidden." He assured. "The other scare goes from the back of your earlobe, below your chin to the other side." He continued, tracing along that scar." It will also fade in time but will be more visible simply because there is no hair to cover it up. But it will be very thin and very light." He assured. "The swelling and redness will go away in a few weeks and you will gain full movement and feeling in your face."

Jesus nodded but didn't say a word for he was still too busy studying the image in the mirror. His mothers weren't quite sure what to say and so, for right now, they opted to say nothing.

"In a year or two people won't even know you had surgery unless they look really closely." The doctor said to make them all feel a little better.

"It's not bad." Jesus finally said, still stroking his cheek and realizing that it felt more like a distant touch. That's probably what the doctor meant by regain full feeling.

"It's not." Stef finally said, glad that her son wasn't too closed off about the surgery.

"I think you look very handsome." Lena said proudly.

"More than before?" Jesus questioned, looking seriously at her.

Lena was momentarily stumped for she didn't know what the right answer was. Did she say he did look better and make him believe he didn't look so good before or did she say his old face was the best and make him feel like he wasn't that good looking now.

"Relax mom, I'm kidding." Jesus finally laughed, giving his mother a break.

Lena laughed nervously, relieved that she didn't have to answer.

"Honestly though, which is better?" Jesus asked. Though he obviously wasn't upset about this whole procedure he was curious. "And be honest." He said frankly.

Lena glanced at her son and then at Stef, begging her to be the one to answer for right now she just wasn't ready.

"Honesty?" Stef confirmed and waited for Jesus to nod. "I miss your old face." She answered truthfully. "But I could definitely get used to looking at this handsome young man too." She added with a smile as she gently brushed her hand across Jesus' cheek, careful not to hurt the tender flesh.

Jesus smiled as wide as his healing face would allow as he turned back to the mirror. "So could I." He agreed positively. That is, until he heard a terrified scream from the doorway.

* * *

Mariana sat in her math class tapping her pencil annoyingly on the desk. Today was the day that her brother would see his face and she wanted to be there with him but her mom had said no. _Jesus needs time to accept this and decided when he's ready for everyone else to see._ Lena had said before sending the other four children to school

But Mariana couldn't stop thinking about her brother and she was now sitting in her fourth class of the day but she couldn't even tell you which subjects she's had before this, let alone what they were taught in them. She glanced up the clock and noticed that not even a minute had passed since the last time she'd looked. There was only a minute or two left of this period and she was just waiting for the bell to ring so that she could text her mother and ask what was going on.

Finally, mercifully the bell rang and Mariana quickly sent the text she'd already typed out. She waited impatiently for several minutes for a response but when she didn't receive one immediately she shook her head and with a determined look she grabbed her bag and snuck out of school, not caring about whatever consequences her moms would have for her.

On the twenty minute walk to the hospital she'd considered all the possibilities of what Jesus might look like and what she'd say to support him. She imagined a handsome looking fellow with perfect features and flawless skin. Then she imagined Channing Tatum, Ben Affleck and Liam Hemsworth and she smiled as she entered the hospital. However, much like Jesus, she pictured all these faces but still expected Jesus to look like the Jesus she'd known all her life so when she reached the doorway and saw a boy that look vaguely familiar but also vastly different she couldn't help but scream.


End file.
